Castle in LA
by Nature9000
Summary: A murder investigation draws Castle and Beckett back to California and into the life a child he was forced to give up several years ago in an event that has always haunted him. He investigates the family in secret, while also investigating the corrupt officials that took his child. The answers he seeks may lead to something that is far greater than he could truly imagine.
1. Haunted

Castle in LA

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: This story is the connected continuation of both "More than a Fan", and "Castle's Lament". There is a reason that my first story in this fandom is tied to my old fandom, this serves as a bit of a "hand-off" between fandoms if you will. I hope you'll give this a shot, because there's a lot of investigation in here, and I've done my best to make this into something great. Without further ado, enjoy the read. This is also 2010/2011, bear that in mind too.

A/N: Some info for those of you who haven't read the oneshots. This centers around an event in Rick Castle's past, a first child born to him and Meredith that was taken by a corrupt social worker, and he was unable to get this child back There is a deeper reason than what the reader currently knows for the loss of this child, and that is just one thing that Castle will be investigating.

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><p>Chapter 1 (Haunted)<p>

To Rick's dismay, the social worker they had charged wasn't convicted. It took some time to recover from the news, but at the very least he was able to keep himself focused on more important things. Kate didn't know about the letters yet, but for the last few months he'd been exchanging letters with his daughter that the social worker took from Meredith.

He still wanted to look into Regina's past, because it was now known by the police that she'd fabricated her reports on other children. There was no reason to assume she hadn't done the same to his child.

"You should leave this alone, dear." His mother sat beside him on the couch and looked towards the file on the end table. "Regina isn't important anymore, is she?"

"I should have fought it in court." His eyes drifted to the kitchen, where Alexis was making stew. "You've read the letters we've been getting from Katrina, she's unhappy with the adoptive family." The letters didn't reveal much about the girl's life, but the tone of the writing resonated with him. "If I had fought it, if I didn't buy into Mrs. Vega's sob story, she'd be here with us. Alexis would have her sister, and everything would be okay."

His stomach churned as he thought back to his meeting with Mrs. Vega so many years before. To this day the truth haunted him, but he never had the heart to tell his mother or Alexis that he hadn't been willing to give up his daughter.

The truth was that he didn't buy into the sob story. The entire reason he didn't try to win back the custody of his child was centered around a single, threatening phone call. Just as Kate with all her vigor over finding her mother's killer, he too spent years obsessively trying to figure out who that caller was and what connection the caller had to Regina, or even the judge that would have heard the custody case.

Martha's lips sank into a frown and her fingers curled around his hand. "It isn't your fault, Richard." Something wasn't right, but he didn't expect his mother to understand. As much as he looked into Regina's file, he still couldn't find the connection he was looking for. "You didn't know."

"Mrs. Vega told me they were unable to have children, but my decision that day wouldn't have changed anything. That's what Regina said to me when she left the office." To the right of the manila folder was an envelope with a folded letter inside, he'd already read it and stuffed it back into the envelope. "Then Trina tells me in her letters she has a sister, born after her and the Vega's actual child. I was lied to."

What bothered him more than being lied to was the fact that he didn't fight, he reluctantly agreed not to challenge the family in court over his daughter. Whatever Regina meant by 'it wouldn't make a difference', he wanted to know.

Alexis turned her head and removed the spoon from the pot. "Dad, was Detective Beckett there when Regina said what she did? Did you tell her anything about Trina yet?" He moved his hand over his chin and shook his head.

"What am I supposed to tell her? My wife let a corrupt social worker take my daughter away and I hardly fought to get her back?" So far Trina hadn't said anything about wanting him to find her, though they talked on and off about the possibility of meeting. She hadn't mentioned to the Vega's about finding him yet. "I wonder what would happen if I went to LA to see her. Mrs. Vega lied to me back then, so my presence couldn't be a welcome one."

"After all this time, you probably can't just show up and fight them," Martha remarked. The woman slid back into the couch and curved her hand over her forehead.

Rick tangled his fingers together and brought his hands up to his chin. If he went to LA, there was no doubt trouble would arise. The last time he and Kate had travelled there, he received a notice warning him to stay away from the family. He hadn't been looking, but if he had, something terrible would have happened. He couldn't risk it.

What was so damn important about the case, and why did it matter if he made contact with his daughter? Rick's eyes narrowed and his mother's hand swept away from his shoulder. Even these letters could draw risk, but so far whoever was connected to all of this was unaware of these letters. For now, staying away from Los Angeles was keeping his family and Trina safe, and he wasn't going to be the reason anyone was in danger.

"What would be the reason to do that? If she's happy, I'm not going to challenge that. I won't make the Vega's think that I want to challenge them, either." Trina was old enough that if she wanted to find them, she could. There was no reason for him to push anything unless she were in some sort of trouble. "Although I get the sense there's some neglect involved, but I don't want to make assumptions."

If there was neglect, he would want to act; but if he acted on impulse, it could cause more problems than it would help.

The cell phone on the end table broke out with a terrible ring, distracting him from his thoughts. He grabbed the phone and brought it to his ear with a sigh. "Castle," he answered, "Impeccable timing, Beckett."

A fresh murder case was a good thing to distract him, at least that was how he was viewing it. Even walking across the crime scene with Kate, he still couldn't get the details of Trina's last letter off his mind. "Can I ask a hypothetical question?" He ducked under the police tape as Kate stopped to face him.

"Shoot."

"Say you had a child adopted by another family." Kate's eyebrow rose and her hands slid down to her hips. "If you were communicating with them and they way they spoke indicated some sort of neglect, would you act on that?"

"Only if I could confirm there was any actual abuse. Otherwise, even if they were just simply unhappy, I couldn't do anything about it." He frowned at her and blew out a powerful breath of air when she turned away. "If this is about that social worker a few months ago, you know she wasn't the killer in that case."

"No, I know that. I was just thinking about something."

"I need you to focus on this case, okay?" His lips separated inches apart and he drew in a small breath of air, holding it in his mouth for several seconds before releasing it.

"Alright. I'm focused." He followed her to where Lanie was already working on the body inside the victim's living room. The victim was a tall Caucasian male that appeared to be in his mid-fifties. His throat had been cut to the spine, each arm had two long slits that ran from the bend of the arm to the edge of the wrist. A large "C" had been burned into the victim's chest.

Lanie turned her head up to the two, her lips pulled back into a frown. "The victim's Leroy Dennison," she spoke, "It's difficult to say until I get to the lab what the time of death is. I suspect it was some time last night, possibly around two or three in the morning. He was found by his maid this morning."

Rick knelt and peered down along the body. "Looks personal." To this day he still had difficulty stomaching the gruesome murders. He had to swallow down a small bit of bile before looking to the nearby wall. Above the fireplace was a college diploma that certified the victim in a degree in law. "He was a lawyer?"

"Yes." Lanie brushed her hair over her ear and stood up. "Mr. Dennison here was a defense attorney for over twenty years." He glanced back to the body and pressed his lips tightly together. "Esposito and Ryan are talking to the maid right now."

Rick stood and turned as Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan approached them. "We were talking to her," Javier stated, "Until she broke out into a fit of tears." Javier crossed his arms and looked down to the body. "Lawyer, so it's possible he's got a whole list of people out to get him."

On instinct, Rick moved towards the framed diploma. He caught something on the bottom frame that he wanted to get a better look at. His eyes squinted at what appeared to be letters written in red ink. "R-U-P-T."

"What was that, Castle?" Kate moved over to him and the others followed. His hand scratched along his chin and he slowly pulled it away to point at the photo.

"Someone wrote R-U-P-T here. What's the significance?" His eyes drifted from the frame and back to the letter C on the victim's body. "Maybe the C is a part of the message?"

The maid shambled to the group, her body was trembling and her fearful eyes gazed at the diploma. Kate turned and met the woman's eyes. "Ma'am, have those letters been on the frame before?"

"No," the maid replied in a hurried tone. "No, I make sure every day to clean the glass and frame. Mr. Dennison can't stand the thought of any splotches on there."

"Then you don't mind if we take this in as evidence?"

"Go ahead." The maid wiped her eyes with a lace handkerchief, then pulled it down to rest on her chest. "He had a meeting today. He was supposed to go in and talk to a social worker about a child they wanted to rescue." Rick's eyebrows shot up and he held his breath as Kate asked for the name of the social worker so they could question them.

At the interrogation room, Rick walked behind Regina Harper. "I thought you weren't working anymore." He stopped next to her and narrowed his eyes. "It's interesting how you're right back here again." Regina rolled her eyes and looked up at him.

"I'm sorry, I thought you weren't questioning me as a suspect."

"Not yet." He rarely took charge in an investigation, but he couldn't help himself this time. "You wanted to 'rescue' a child, I see." This was only partly about the murder victim, right now he wanted more than anything to grill her on the connection to his past. "Just like you wanted to rescue Meredith's daughter," he whispered.

Kate had gone to get water as requested by Regina, so Rick didn't have any qualms about opening up about this part of his history. "I'll admit, my little vendetta against your wife back then might have compromised one or two things, but you should learn to let the past be past."

His anger flared up and he leaned over the table, pressing his palms firmly against the table. His teeth clenched and Rick sucked the air in between his teeth. "I received a phone call from someone telling me that if I tried to take my daughter back, they'd kill my family. What did you have to do with it-I know you had something to do with it. You fabricated the reports you gave to the judge."

"You'd have to talk to the judge." Regina's lips slid into a cold smirk and her eyes darkened. "But you'd have to find the man. Word on the street is he retired and moved to California." A shock of pain spread across his chest and he slid back as the wind in his lungs flew from his body. "I don't know anything about a phone call, Richard.I was just starting as a social worker back in the day." Regina leaned back and put her hand to her chest. "I wanted to be an actress."

"Oh, is that so?" He folded his arms across his chest and glanced to the door of the interrogation room. Regina was a good actress, but she was cocky as well. They'd gotten into many heated arguments over his custodial rights, so far that he even threatened to take her to court for fabricating her findings in her interview with him.

"Okay Miss actress…" He sneered and crinkled his nose at her. "I'm going to find out the truth, and when I do, you're the first person I'm going to expose." Regina slinked back into her chair and closed her eyes.

"That's fine. If you want to get involved in something that you know nothing about, be my guest." The door opened and Kate stepped in. She was clutching a cup of water in her hand and looking at Rick with a suspicious eye.

"I thought I told you to stay seated, Castle?" He shrugged and watched Regina take the cup of water. Kate sat down and folded her hands on the table. "Alright Regina, we know Mr. Dennison was coming to see you about a child. Is there anything you can explain about that meeting? Do you think he was murdered because of the upcoming meeting?"

"I'm not sure." Regina closed her lips and moved her right hand over her left wrist. Rick sat beside Kate and narrowed his eyes at the woman. "It was a custody case and I wanted his advice on how to proceed. The mother is alleged to be violently abusive towards the father and child."

Rick cleared his throat and leaned to the right. "I find it hard to believe he'd advise a social worker whose known for lying to please her own agenda." Kate's mouth opened, then slammed shut as her eyes darted over to him. He winced and looked away. His right hand tapped the table and his body began to shake from anger. "Sorry, you lead."

"Thank you, Castle." Kate exhaled gently and glanced back to the witness. "Can you give us the names of this family, we would like to see if they had any dealings with Mr. Dennison."

"I'll help out any way that I can, detective." Regina's eyes drifted into Rick's and her mouth twisted into a smug grin. He flared his nostrils and thinned his lips together. "And you Mr. Castle. I'm sure you can understand how crucial it is for that man to take custody of his child from the mom. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your little girl, would you? Alexis is her name, I believe?"

Rick's eyes widened as his chest slowly expanded. The words the caller spoke flashed before his mind, crippling and spurning his grief and anger.

_Remember your second child, Alexis, and your mother. You wouldn't want anything to happen to them by taking the Vegas to court, now would you?_

If the caller had been female, he'd take down Regina on the spot. "Right," he strained as veins bulged in his hands. "I understand perfectly. It's an important case."

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><p>I hope it has caught your attention so far. I intend on making this one of the deepest novels of mine. I do enjoy investigative fiction, and there are at least three investigations Rick will partake in (including the serial killer case that leads them to LA). Please read on, I hope you'll enjoy uncovering the truth as Castle does. Bear in mind that not everything has been revealed yet, I would never reveal everything at once.<p> 


	2. Exchanging Letters

Castle in LA

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 2 (Exchanging Letters)<p>

At the house, Alexis was curled on the couch with a new letter from Trina in her hands. Rick tossed his coat on the rack beside the door and moved over to Alexis. "You asked about her sister's friends," Alexis stated, "She's told us a few things. They sound crazy. There's a kid that carries a puppet everywhere he goes."

"Maybe he's got attachment issues." Rick laughed and took the letter from Alexis. She swayed into him and set her head onto his shoulder. It was relaxing to come home to the letter after the long day, but reading it was always surreal. "Have you read the whole thing yet?"

"Just a little bit. She's known about her adoption all her life." Rick blew out a heavy breath and scanned the letter closely. Trina spoke of having dreams with different parents, and one of the biggest issues she had all of her life was never knowing just who she was. "She's not even happy there, Dad."

"There's not much I can do about that." From the way Alexis was looking at him with determined eyes and a thin-lipped expression, he could tell she wanted him to act. As much as he wanted to jump up and fly out to California on the next flight out, he knew how it would look if he randomly showed up at the Vega house. "Alexis, Trina has stated that she's not talked about these letters to either Holly or David. She doesn't say anything about wanting me to go down there, so if I do, it will only create more conflict than she needs in her life."

"Dad, you're a writer. Read between the lines." She grabbed the letter from him and his shoulders dropped. "She's upset, she's always talking about how bad she feels about the way her family treats her. The way she talks about her sister's friends, it's like-" Alexis's nose crinkled and her lips twisted with disgust. "It's like they don't even know how to treat a person like a human being."

"She isn't in any danger." As far as he knew, no one was in danger if he remained static and in New York. Despite his best judgments, he needed to stay in place. "I won't move right now, Alexis. I want to, I do, but I can't." Her lips separated and she squinted at him, but remained silent. "There's more in all of this than you understand…"

"Either that, or you're just afraid to own up to the fact that you gave her up." He started to protest, but she pushed herself from the couch and walked off. He blew out and peered down at the letter, reading over it multiple times.

According to the letter, Mr. Vega had been promoted to an upper-level rank in the police force, so now the family saw him even less. Trina's sister was 'obsessed' with singing, and the parents supported the younger sibling in everything she did while they ignored her.

"It sounds more like they had a miracle child than anything." He brought his hand up over his mouth and tapped his cheek gently. His eyes drifted to his cell phone. He'd been pushing off the urge to contact Meredith and ask her connection to Regina, but since the social worker had appeared again in his life, it was difficult for him to push that impulse away. "If I look into Regina, people will get hurt. Unless…she's not important anymore."

Whatever the case was, his eldest daughter was unhappy, and it was his fault. Rick moved his hand over his phone and stared down at it while curling his fingers into his palm. "Alexis is right," he muttered, "But there isn't anything I can do."

At the very least, he could figure out if there was anything Meredith could shine light on regarding Regina. There was a reason for the woman's corruption, and his ex-wife was the only person that he knew had contact with her. He still wanted answers, he still wanted to know why Regina had been gunning for his family, and he held off investigation because of his own fears.

If he looked into it now, it could be dangerous, but he had to do it now that Trina was making contact. She'd want answers, and he didn't have any to give. In order to give her the answers she was searching for, he needed answers to his own questions. In order to look into Regina, he had to do so carefully, because he didn't need that mysterious caller finding out that he was looking into them.

"What are they afraid of." He grabbed the phone and hesitated briefly before dialing Meredith's number. When she answered, her voice held a distinct sadness. Rick furrowed his brow and lowered the letter to his lap. "Is everything okay, Meredith?"

"Everything is fine, Richard." He heard a sniffle, then listened to the sound of something shuffling. "I'm playing solitaire. Is there something you need?" Her trembling voice struck a harsh chord in his heart. It wasn't difficult to see what the issue was, even in Trina's letters she said she hadn't been in contact with her mother.

"Have you heard from Trina, Meredith?"

"Once in a while I might get a call or a letter, but no. I don't even know how to respond to her." She stopped to catch her breath, and Rick waited to see if she had anything further to add. He could hear the guilt dripping from her lips as silent huffs, a sign that she'd been beating herself up. "I gave her up Richard. I know you and her have been exchanging letters for the past few months, but how in the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Just do it."

"I can't." There came a slam from her end, causing him to hold his breath. "I'm not talking about this. I'm sorry, I just can't deal with it the way you do." He rolled his eyes and glanced to the door nearby. "Anyway, what did you need?"

"I need information." He closed his eyes and tightened his fingers around his knees. "I want to find out why our daughter, why I-or even you-were targeted. Over the years I've received threatening phone calls and letters reminding me that if I thought to…look into anything-" He stopped and glanced at the stairs, hoping to make sure Alexis nor Martha was listening. "They would come after my family."

Meredith gasped out and started to question, but he had no true way to explain. He interrupted her panicked chatter, speaking over her in order to get her to quiet down. "I was going to fight the Vega's for custody, Meredith. I was going to sue that social worker, even, because she fabricated our entire interview." He breathed in slowly and narrowed his eyes at the coffee table in front of him.

"I thought you agreed to let the Vega's keep her because they couldn't have children?"

"That's what I told everyone, but that's not the whole story." His chest expanded and he flexed his hand. "I lied, all these years I've been lying. Someone called me before I could try a case. Someone didn't want me suing Regina, or fighting for our daughter. I need to know what connection Regina had with you."

Something shattered in the background, and Meredith let out an painful cry that pierced his ears. He pulled the phone away for a moment, shook his head, then returned the phone to his ear. "Why are you looking into it now, Richard?"

"Because I'm sick of avoiding the issue. Trina's letters say she's unhappy with her adoptive family. I can't do anything about that, but I can at least find answers."

"Why can't you do anything?"

"She hasn't said anything about wanting me to interfere, she hasn't even told the Vega's about contacting me. I won't mess with anything unless either she tells me to, or my hand is forced. You know that."

"I understand."

"Good. Now I need you to tell me if there's any connection between you and Regina." This was built solely on a hunch, a hunch that wouldn't be there had he never received the threatening phone call. "If she was just a random social worker, I wouldn't have been threatened when I tried to fight. I don't know who, or what, is behind all of this, and I don't know why. All these years, it's pissed me off, and now that we've had to deal with Regina _twice_, I'm getting angrier."

"Richard. I knew Regina before she was a social worker. We went to college together. Roommates." His heart stopped and he felt the air evaporate from his lungs. "We auditioned for the same part in a play at the college, I got the part and she didn't. I went onto Broadway, she gave up acting and changed roommates. I didn't see her again until she responded to that neighbor's complaint about me leaving my baby alone."

"Then what she did?"

"It wasn't just doing her job, she was doing it to get back at me. She told me that."

"And you never thought to mention this?"

"I didn't think it was relevant. I was losing my baby regardless."

Rick stifled a shout and pushed down the anger and bile mixing inside of him. It wasn't her fault and he needed to remember that, but it was hard to keep his calm and not shout at her. "You still should have said something." He sucked the air in through his clenched teeth and flared his nostrils. "She made it personal. She took a child because it was personal, lied about my eligibility because she was pissed at you. You should have said something back then. I could have fought!"

"You said it yourself, Richard. Someone threatened you not to act."

"But if I knew what I know now." He ran his hands through his hair and rose from the couch with a heavy sigh. "Meredith. Do you know the name of the company Regina worked for back then? Or even the name of the adoption agency? Maybe I can look into her record there, someone she worked with had to have made the call."

"What about Mr. Vega? Why do you think he didn't make the call?"

"Because it sounded nothing like the man." Not to mention, David was a well-respected police officer back then. All personality flaws aside that Trina described of the man, he'd seen the officer in action once or twice. "He's not the type of person to threaten someone's life. Besides what would he have to gain?"

"Stupid question, Richard." David had motive, so Meredith was right about that, but his instincts told him someone else was responsible. "What are you so concerned about anyway? Are you going to try and get her back _now_?"

"It's not so much that as I don't like feeling like an axe is hanging over my head." It wasn't so much that as it was feeling in tune with what Kate was struggling with in regards to her mother's murder case. He couldn't stand the fact that someone out there had an agenda, and he or his family became a target because of something Meredith had done whether intentional or not.

It wasn't just that. He felt like there was something more to it, but the only way to figure that out was to examine what he had. Right now, all he had was Regina, and all he could assume was she was somehow behind the threats he received over the years.

"Have the threats gone down at all, Richard? You're in contact with Trina, she found me at a public place, so whoever threatened you doesn't know." He leaned his head back and hummed softly.

The threats had gone down, but it was hard to tell. "That's good. To be honest, it's always been random little reminders." Someone out there wanted to control him, to keep him from ever thinking about challenging either the process of Trina's adoption or looking into Regina's background. "But I'm going to start looking. I won't let anyone get hurt, however, so you are not to talk about this to anybody."

"What about Beckett and the others?"

"Them either. I need to figure this out myself."

In Los Angeles, Trina Vega read the letter she received from her birth father. Along with her in the school auditorium was her sister's friend, Jade, the only other person that knew she'd made contact with the man. "You seem happy," Jade remarked, "Have you asked him to come down to visit?"

"No." Her heart pounded as she folded the letter and returned it to her purse. "How can I do that, mom and dad don't even know." She didn't want to tell anybody, she didn't know how to say it. "Besides, none of them would care."

"You say no one cares about you, but Tori wanted you in this play. If she was completely ignoring you, then why would she bother?"

"Just another moment to be better than me." Trina didn't know why Jade was even bothering with her, considering the girl was the one that always pressed the issue of nobody giving a damn about her. She took a deep breath and looked towards the harness that Robbie and other set workers were helping with. "I just want to be done with this play."

Maybe she'd run away to New York, because at the very least, Rick seemed interested in her life. "Everybody get ready," Tori called out from the stage, "We're almost ready to begin." Trina crossed her arms and stared up at the dainty brunette. Tori flashed a smile at her and hurried over. "I hope you're ready for your shot, Sis."

"It's just one little scene, right?" She lowered her arms and glanced back to the harness. Whenever she was done with this, she was going to write out her response to her father. _"Maybe I'll ask him to come down to LA. I'd love to see him in person, if he'd show…"_

Within minutes she was up on the rafters with the harness around her waist. She felt like one of the ropes was loose, but overall she opted to ignore it. Her mind wasn't focused on the part, so much as it was focused on what she wanted to say in her next letter.

"What would it take to get my real dad to come here? What would it take to get him to come get me?"

When her cue came, she snapped out of the dreamlike state that was surrounding her. She leapt from her place, struggling to recall her lines, but it didn't matter.

The minute Trina's body swung, she heard a sudden cracking noise. Her head twisted around to look at the harness, the her heart stopped. The mechanism attached to the rope had broken and the rope was flying off. She cried out in horror as she flailed through the air, crashing first into one of the prop walls.

She could hear Tori calling out to her, but no one was running onto the stage to help her. Pain seared through her body as she crashed into another wall. As her vision blurred with her tears, she caught the scent of blood rushing into her nostrils.

_"Who would do this?"_ Trina's body went limp as her weight caused the remaining rope on the harness to break, flinging her onto the ground with a heavy thud. She felt a crack and looked to her left arm, screaming when she bone jutting from her skin. As her consciousness began to fade, she tried to think of anything other than the terrible pain she was in, so she pictured her birth father and tried to keep him in her mind as if his image could erase her pain.

The last thought in her mind questioned just how Rick would react to this, and she would let him know, if she survived this trauma enough to write him again.

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><p>So this chapter also reveals the 2nd and 3rd investigation that will be taking place in this story. There's definitely something deeper behind what's going on with Regina or that phone call. And it looks like here in the end, Rick may have a reason to go to LA, but she'll be in the hospital. I should let you know what happens at the end is not related to the whole adoption investigation or the serial killer, it's an isolated incident.<p> 


	3. Decision is Clear

Castle in LA

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 3 (Decision is Clear)<p>

Rick parked outside Regina's home, expecting to question her about the threats he'd received in the past. He was going to pass this off as a friendly meeting rather than an investigation, mainly because he wanted to avoid having her shut down. Part of him wanted to involve Kate, Javier, and Kevin, but this was his investigation to deal with.

His stomach knotted up as he approached the brick home. With each step he took, he felt a terrible feeling that something wasn't right.

The front door was slightly ajar, causing him to start fretting over whether or not he was walking in on a crime scene. "No, I need information." His hands trembled as he rushed to the door and peered inside. To his shock and dismay, there was a body strewn out on the ground. His chest ached from the rapid pulses of his heart, and his shoulders dropped as bile shot up his throat. "Goddamn it, Regina."

Within the hour, he was working the scene with Kate and the others. Lanie was examining the body while Javier and Kevin tried to get answers from the neighbors. "What were you doing here?" Kate had a sense of urgency in her voice.

"I just wanted to ask her about something. It isn't relevant." He brushed past her and stared down at Regina's body. Her throat had been cut all the way to the spine, and each arm had two long slits. On her chest was carved the letter 'C'. As his eyes moved up to the wall, he saw that someone pinned her degree to the wall, a Masters in Social Work, and beneath it were the letters R-U-P-T. "She was killed by the same person that killed our lawyer from the other day…"

He drew in a heavy breath and looked towards Kevin and Javier. "Ryan, Esposito, I need you to do something for me." He approached the men and looked over his shoulder at Regina's body. "Look at her phone history and find out if she had regular contact with anyone. Even all the way back to '94."

"Why so far back?" Javier asked. "Lanie says the time of death was last night at one o'clock. Do you think someone from '94 would have anything to do with this, Castle?" He was certain they wouldn't, but he wanted these records for himself.

"I'm not sure, it could be, but I'd still like to know. We'll probably also want to find any connection between her and our lawyer." He turned just as Kate approached the group. She was holding onto her phone.

"That was Captain Montgomery, he's been associating with the LAPD on this." Rick stalled at her words and felt a sudden jolt of confusion. He furrowed his brow and crossed his arms, not wanting to show any emotion towards the mention of the Los Angeles police.

"What does the LAPD have to do with this?"

Kate pushed the phone into her pocket and let out a heavy sigh. "We've got a serial killer on our hands. The primary attacks appear to be in Los Angeles, they're requesting a team to help them look at evidence and go over the case down there. Montgomery wants us to work with them while a team stays here to work on the cases that have happened here. Captain Montgomery wants us to fly down there, Castle."

"What? Us?"

"Yes." She raised an eyebrow and leaned to the right. "Is there a problem with that?" He closed his hands and looked down to Regina's body. If he went to Los Angeles, he'd be too tempted to try and contact the Vega family. If he didn't go, he wouldn't be able to help Kate with this case. "Castle?"

He couldn't turn down the job, or at least he didn't want to. "I don't know, Beckett. LA is…"

"If you don't want to go to LA, you'll have to talk to the Captain about it. He wants Ryan and Esposito working things here." He had nothing to hide, but this was too personal for him to simply let them pry and open something that he'd been so closed off on for several years.

Lanie called out, drawing their attention to a small booklet in her hand. "Found this beside the body, looks like it's a list of names from a company she works for." Rick hurried over and took the booklet from her, holding it carefully as the others surrounded him. Immediately he recognized the name at the top of the booklet: _One Hope Adoption Agency_, the same adoption agency that Trina was sent to when she was a baby.

"I recognize this." Javier took the book and marveled over the agency's name, which caught Rick off guard. "I know someone that adopted a kid from here. They adopt to people that can't have kids. They've got agencies all over the country, but their headquartered somewhere in California." Rick pulled his head back as the urge to vomit gripped his gut.

"You know anything else about them, Esposito?" He had to know everything he could about this agency. "Do you think Regina could have sent children she 'rescued' to this agency?"

Javier ran his finger over his chin and pointed to a name in the booklet. "It's possible, but look, our last victim is on this list too." Rick's heart began pounding as he studied the names. The serial killer had to be going over this list, but why? "Some of these names are people that were found dead in Los Angeles-all lawyers, judges, and so on."

"I see." He took a deep breath and dropped his gaze to the bottom of the list. _Judge Roy Abraham._ This was the judge that would have handled the custody case if it went to court, but the list put his location as Los Angeles, California. "Judge Abraham used to live here in New York." Kate glanced at him and crossed her arms.

"Do you know him?"

"In passing." He waved his hand dismissively and grabbed his phone from his pocket. "Years ago." Kate smacked her lips together and leaned to the right. Her suspicious gaze felt like fire scorching through him as if he were suddenly transparent. "I need to leave, Alexis is texting me."

"We need to discuss LA, Castle."

"Later." Kate spread her arms out and dropped them with a huff as he hurried off.

If the Judge was on the list of those 'employed' by or working with this adoption agency, then he was somehow connected to Regina. The serial killer was clearly targeting the names on this list as well, which would give him little time to find the answers he was looking for.

"I can't go to LA. I can't." He pushed open the door and set his hand above his racing heart. Every moment he thought of bolting for LA, the threatening phone calls would come to mind. Sure, Ryan and Esposito could provide help in protecting his family, but just how much help could that be against someone that even he didn't know the identity of? What more was the fact that if he went to LA, the Vega's might accuse him of trying to take Trina away from them.

He pressed his back against the wall beside his door and looked to the living room. Alexis was sitting on the couch with her laptop and Martha was standing behind her, clutching a sheet of paper in her hand. Both women looked horrified and distressed, and Alexis's face was wet with tears.

In an instant he no longer cared about what he'd been worrying about before. If something was upsetting Alexis, he needed to know. "What's going on?"

"It's Trina," Alexis answered, "Someone hurt her." His eyes widened and he ran to the couch. "Then one of that girl's friends took a video and put it online. Her sister's friend." Alexis narrowed her eyes and Rick sat beside her.

His body trembled with anger as he watched the scene play out, and his rage only increased when he heard the person behind the camera chuckling. "I-Is she okay?" As Trina collapsed onto the stage, his heart shattered. "Do we know it was intentional?"

"Yes, Richard." He glanced at Martha and frowned when she handed him a letter. "This came in today." Rick grabbed the letter and peered down anxiously, he avoided the words on the paper for a few seconds, then dared to read them aloud with a shaky tone.

"I'm writing from the hospital. I wish you could be here, I'm in pain everywhere. I was talked into being a part of Tori's play, and the hook holding up my harness broke. They say someone sabotaged it so that it would break, but the police won't even be bothered to try and find out what's going on. Go figure, my dad's supposed to be a cop and he won't even try and find out who did this to me. Why does everyone hate me? My so-called sister, my adoptive parents, my sister's friends. I don't understand it-what the hell did I ever do to them?"

Rick steadied his hand and brought it over his mouth. He closed his eyes and growled softly as his stomach began to churn violently. He couldn't read anymore, the anger was already getting to be too much. "I told you," Alexis muttered, "Something is wrong with that family that has her." He had to know who did this, but it would mean going to Los Angeles anyway.

"When was the video taken?"

"A few days ago, I think. She must be out of the hospital since she was able to send the letter."

What he didn't understand was how David wasn't investigating this. The man was supposed to be taking care of her, raising her, and now when she gets seriously injured, he won't do anything to figure out who was responsible?

Martha circled the couch and threw her hand into the air. "That poor child could die in that home, Richard, and it sounds like no one would lift a finger." He leaned back into the couch with a sigh and stared at the video on the computer. "Richard, if you don't go help that girl, I will." He raised an eyebrow as Martha's hands locked around her waist. "I won't have my granddaughter holed up in a hellhole."

"No. No, it's okay." He'd made his decision now. After seeing this video and the letter, he truly had no choice. "But, if I do this, then I need you two to know something." He was going to solve this, and if it meant taking Trina back from the Vega's, he would do it. "I'll need to make sure the two of you will be safe."

"Safe?"

"Yes. There's something you need to hear…why I haven't done anything before…"

On the plane ride, he sat beside Kate and clutched Trina's letter in his hand while focusing an intense glare on the clouds outside the window. He'd already convinced Ryan and Esposito to make sure Alexis and Martha would be safe, despite the two detectives not knowing the full story.

Alexis and Martha weren't thrilled to know the truth, but they seemed to understand. To make matters seemingly worse, Captain Montgomery informed them that the team they were to collaborate with on the serial killer case was led by David Vega. Any direct contact with the man could throw his family into harm's way, because whoever had been making sure he didn't act out all these years did not want him associating with the Vega clan.

"Are you alright?" Kate asked while moving her gaze onto the letter in his hand. "I thought you didn't want to fly out?"

"I don't, but I changed my mind." The first thing he was going to have to do was make sure not to throttle David when he saw the man. The next thing he wanted were answers to why he wasn't looking into what happened to his daughter. The man would have to recognize him, and if he didn't, Rick would be more than happy to jog his memory.

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><p>There's a lot more going on with the threats and the serial killer than what Rick may realize, but for now, he's answering a much needed call.<p> 


	4. Determined

Castle in LA

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 4 (Determined)<p>

The Los Angeles police precinct wasn't as large as the precinct in New York, but to Rick's amazement, the interior was relatively similar but with white walls and steel flooring. When he entered and looked to the wall in front of him, there were four framed photos in the form of a diamond. Each picture belonged to the four highest ranks of the police force, with the Chief at the top, the Police Commander at the bottom, and the Assistant Chief as well as Deputy Chief resting side by side.

The photo on the bottom was what grabbed Rick's attention and caused him to tense and halt in his step. It was of a man with a strong build, light brown hair, square jaw and deep blue eyes. "Mr. Vega's the Commander now?" He muttered under his breath.

A nearby officer overheard and corrected him, causing him to flinch before turning. "He's still acting Captain of this precinct," the officer informed, "But he's already been promoted on paper. He's not the Police Commander just yet."

"I see." He wanted to knock _Captain _Vega down a few pegs, then. The man surely didn't deserve to be where he was. "I can't wait to meet him." He offered his hand and the officer shook it, smiling pleasantly. "What can you tell me about the others?"

"Well, Commander Leone is finishing up his year before retiring. Michael Monroe is our Assistant Chief, and Lance Freedman is our Deputy Chief. They are good men." The officer's eyes darted to the right and he cleared his throat. "Excuse me…It was good to meet you, sir."

"I-" Rick turned his head and frowned when he saw the tall Captain walking towards them. The man had a friendly smile and his eyes appeared to be studying both Kate and himself from afar. "Captain David Vega, or is it Commander?" He clenched his teeth behind closed lips and feigned a smile.

David shook Rick's hand and separated his lips to reveal his teeth in a smile. "Not yet, I'm still a captain. So, I spoke with Captain Montgomery over the phone." David stepped back and folded his hands at his waist. "You must be his two detectives."

"That's right," Kate answered, bringing her hand up to her chest. "I'm Detective Beckett, and this is my associate, Mr. Castle." David's eyebrows brushed up into his forehead and his eyes moved over to Rick, but his smile remained. Rick felt a nervous strain in his chest and pushed his hands into his pockets, for fear of lashing out at the man.

There was no hint of recognition in David's eyes, and his posture was still relaxed. "You're not a detective, Mr. Castle?"

Rick shook his head and held onto his smile. "I'm more of a police consultant. I am a writer. Richard Castle." The plus here was that when he met David all those years ago, he hadn't gone by 'Castle' yet. Rather, his true name was 'Rodgers', and David would be more apt to recognize that name than anything.

"Richard Castle?" David's hand moved up to his chin and the corner of his lip pulled upwards. "I recognize that name." Rick's heartbeat flickered and he began closing his hands into tight fists. "My daughter's a fan of your books. I think she's got an entire wall lined with them. I can't say I've read many of them, but Trina likes to talk about them."

"Oh, I'm flattered. How is your daughter, by the way?"

"She's…okay." David's shoulders fell and his eyes slid to the photo of the high ranking members of the force. His hands moved to his waist and his eyes slanted. "She was in the hospital recently with a few broken bones, but she is healing and out of the hospital now."

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Some kid busted the mechanism holding up her harness during a performance." David cleared his throat and turned his back to the two detectives. "Come, we need to discuss what's going on with this case we're working." Rick wanted to shout at the man for not investigating the incident, to curse him out for simply ignoring the fact that his daughter had been hurt and he was doing nothing.

As they followed him, he felt a sharp nudge in his side and looked to see Kate glaring at him. "It's not your place," Kate whispered harshly. It was as though she could see the rage he had. "We don't need to know about the Captain's family, so don't pry."

"Fair enough." In David's office, there was a photo on the desk that took Rick's breath away. The photo was of two girls with long brown hair and chestnut colored eyes. He recognized Trina in an instant and started to smile in order to cover up the urge to tear up. "Those are your daughters, Captain?"

"Yes." David reached for the photo and picked it up. "Katrina and Victoria. We adopted Trina."

"And Victoria? Did you adopt her?"

David's brow furrowed and he set the picture back on the desk with a heavy breath. "No." The man looked suspiciously at Rick and pressed his lips tightly together. "We didn't know we could have children, that's why we adopted. Tori was a surprise. Why so curious, Mr. Castle?"

"I like to know who I'm working with." At least this way he could decide whether or not David was a menace or one of the good guys. He still had no idea. It was a relief knowing the Vega's may not have lied initially to him, so he could let go of some of the anger and apprehension.

Even then, he met with Holly, not David.

"So, is there anyone else in the force we need to know about? The DA, the Chief, and so on?"

"Actually the DA is following this case closely, but we're really working with the Assistant DA on this. Thomas Shapiro." Rick watched the man's face tense for the first time, and a look of distress swept past his eyes. "His son, Robbie, is one of my daughters' friends. I don't know Tom that well, he's good friends with our Deputy Chief. He's been considering a run for political office lately, but he's fickle."

"You don't sound like you care much for him."

"It isn't my place to form personal relationships with the DA's office." David crossed his arms and shrugged. "I respect him for business, but I don't care to get to know him outside of that spectrum. He may be a good man personally, he might not be, his son walks around with a puppet everywhere he goes-so you can imagine the judgments towards what his family is like."

Kate cleared her throat and the two men silenced as she placed a folder down on David's desk. "We've recovered a list of names we think may be our killer's target." She leaned back and crossed her arms as David picked up the folder. "Most are either in Los Angeles or New York, we believe the killer is traveling between the two cities. I have Detectives Ryan and Esposito handling things in New York, so I think it's important we know what's going on here as well."

"Yes." David leaned back against the edge of his desk and studied the list of names. "One Hope Adoption Agency? I know that agency, we got Trina through them many years ago. In fact, your most recent victim was the social worker who we worked with. Regina."

"She was corrupt," Rick muttered. David's eyebrow rose and his eyes followed Rick across the room. "She fabricated many reports that forced children away from caring parents. Good parents." David's lips separated, but no words came out. The man swept his hand through his curly hair and dropped his eyes to the name. "A few months ago she was a suspect in a murder case, in which she was going to be exposed as a sham."

"Okay."

"Almost every child she took, she lied in her paperwork. She worked closely with Judge Abraham, and several lawyers."

"Every-" David sucked in a breath and his chest expanded slowly. "What are you saying?" Rick held his breath momentarily, waiting to decide whether he should shatter this man's world. Would it matter to the man, with as negligent as Trina often described him to be?

"I'm saying simply that she was corrupt." He walked over and pointed to the photo of the letters that were inscribed on the victim's chest as well as the degree. "I was thinking about the significance of these letters while on the plane over here. C-R-U-P-T, every single victim was either a lawyer, a judge, a social worker, and you've had a politician found recently? Each one had these letters inscribed at the crime scene."

"Yes."

"We know for a fact that Regina was corrupt, so that got me thinking, could the other victims have been corrupt as well? Could the inscription be the killer's way of abbreviating the word? Could he be going after corrupt officials?"

David's gaze fell and Kate took the photo. "If that's the case, we need to look into the backgrounds of all our victims." She lowered the photo and shook her head. "It isn't going to be easy. If that's the killer's MO, nobody on this list is going to admit to corruption."

"She's right." David pushed himself from the desk and lowered his arms. The man's eyes burned into Rick's, as if he were still trying to figure him out. "Rather than look into the backgrounds of the names on the list, we need to figure out what connection there is between the victims. You brought up Judge Abraham, I recognize that name as well."

"Not hard to forget important people," Rick slyly replied. Kate looked between the two of them with confusion. David brought his hand up to his chin and paced to the right.

"When we got Trina, her birth father wanted to fight us. To get her back." Rick's shoulders rose and the muscles in his arms grew firm. "Holly met with him to try and persuade him to not fight us, I didn't think she could, but somehow he called us a day or two later to say he wasn't going to take us to court. The judge that we were scheduled to appear before was Judge Abraham." David stopped before a window and gazed out as he dropped his hand to the side. "It would be a far stretch to accuse him of corruption. He was a small time judge back then, but now he's an appellate judge-and a powerful one at that."

"I'm not going to lie to you." Rick folded his arms and stepped behind David, narrowing his eyes and making sure the man could feel the anger coming off him. "There's a chance your oldest child was obtained illegally."

"No." David's voice fell out in a petrified whisper. The man covered his mouth and nose with a trembling hand. His eyes grew misty. "If that were the case-"

"What do you think would happen if the birth parents found out?" Kate inquired at Rick's dismay. "Is there any point to all of this?" David turned slightly and cleared his throat before speaking again.

"I haven't been the best father in the world. I've devoted myself to my work, so I haven't paid attention to my family. I imagine if that man found out, he would waste no time taking us to court, or somehow trying to win his daughter back from us. If Regina was as corrupt as you say…we'd lose her just based off her corruption."

"We have had to return some of the children she's handled to their original parents, but I don't recall seeing your name listed as people she was associated with. Is it important?"

The information surprised Rick when they first went through Regina's background. Much of the woman's early cases had been erased as though they never existed, and among those was Trina's information.

Silence filled the air and his heart began to break as terror overwhelmed him. _"Was it a cover-up?"_ He brought his hand over his abdomen and cringed as his insides knotted up. A cover-up usually meant a conspiracy, and if that was the case, then what happened to him in the past was a possible conspiracy.

_"The threats, the lost records from Regina's files. Someone doesn't want something getting out…"_ It was bigger than Regina, bigger than his daughter. He shook away the illness that was inside of him and swept a hand coolly through his hair. "Okay. Regina's corruption may mean something else. These names might not just be individual targets."

"We have no proof they aren't just targets," Kate reminded him, "What are you saying? They're all connected?"

"What if they are?"

"Then we need to investigate that possibility. Remember, Castle, we're investigating the serial killer-not what one social worker was up to behind the scenes." He bowed his head and pushed his hands back into his pocket.

"Right." His eyebrows moved together and dipped in the middle and he turned away from the two, sighing heavily. "That comes first." Whatever Regina was up to, it involved him. He wasn't going to convince Kate to help look into that, not with the serial killer on the loose and not without telling her everything about a past he didn't want anyone prying into, so he was going to need to work on that separately.

He would learn the truth, and he would do whatever it took to find out just what Regina and this person behind the phone calls was trying to hide. The truth could very well be at the hands of Judge Abraham.

_"It wouldn't matter, you'd have lost anyway."_ Regina's words swirled about his head, forcing his temples to pound. Seeing the Judge's name in Regina's booklet gave him the suspicion that the man had already been 'swayed' to make sure Rick didn't fight if he did go to court.

Behind him, Kate and David proceeded to discuss the case. He narrowed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, whispering so they didn't hear. "I'm going to find out, Regina." The veins on the surface of his hand bulged and surged with swift movement of the blood rushing in them. He couldn't be the only parent to have been threatened in the manner, there had to be others that would have fought. The phone caller could be an enforcer, of all things, which would mean somebody was afraid of exposure. "Whatever you're hiding, I will find out, and I will take you out."

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><p>Hopefully you could catch much of the tension. Hey, those of you reading, I'd love to know your input and what you like or think I could work on, so feel free to leave your thoughts. I'm happy to hear them, and glad you're enjoying it thus far. Hope you're as excited to see where it's going as I am to write it.<p> 


	5. Brought Together

Castle in LA

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: I'd like to point out-and I feel I need to point out-I've had to insert something to fix a continuity flaw. When Castle talks about having visited LA before, we are _not _talking about their incident of going against Captain Montgomery's order, the show's visit to LA is far too late. This story is taking place a little after the episode involving steampunk and the antique bullet.

* * *

><p>Chapter 5 (Brought Together)<p>

The high school Trina went to was a strange school, and certainly one that Rick didn't expect to see his kids going to. It was an art-based high school that Trina described as putting importance on crafts such as singing, dancing, or acting. There were some core classes taught, but just enough to allow accreditation. Most kids had to audition to get in, and Trina got in because of her martial arts.

It was around lunch time, so Rick wanted to see if he could spot Trina, and these friends of Tori's. It wasn't hard to spot Tori from the parking lot, she was sitting around a table with her friends, and watching a dark bushy haired, skinny boy standing on top of the table while performing some monologue.

"Okay Beck, that's enough." A girl with dark hair and black clothes tugged on the boy's pants. This girl had pale white skin, and a purple streak running down the side of her hair. This had to be the girl Trina described as Jade, and Beck was her boyfriend. "Get down before you fall off."

Rick's eyes slanted and drifted to a boy with curly black hair, glasses, and a puppet in his hand. Robbie Shapiro, the ADA's son. Every so often he'd look guiltily at Tori, but she didn't seem to take notice. Beside him was a girl with vibrant red hair. This was the girl Trina identified in her letter as Cat, who had dyed her hair red and appeared to have a number of traumatic issues that Rick thought resembled bipolar disorder.

Beck descended from the table and sat beside a strong dark-skinned male with dreads. Tori's eyes snapped over to this man and she leaned back, slowly tucking her hair over her ear. "So Andre, did you ever get your date with that girl? I don't think I got a chance to ask yet." The question was laced with bitterness, and each of the friends cringed.

"Nah, thanks to Lane, I ended up late for the date. She didn't want to go out again."

"My sister was put in the hospital by one of you guys-no one else was in that auditorium. I'd like to think _my_ sister is more important to you than a date."

"What do you care?" Andre rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "She's hardly important to you." Tori started to protest, but Andre continued to talk above her until Beck exclaimed and had them quiet down.

"We don't need to fight," Beck said with calm assurance, "Trina's okay. Right?" Tori scoffed and shook her head.

"Dad ordered off the police, and one of you is lying. You guys are my friends, but you think I don't notice you treating my family like trash? Which one of you did it? There's obviously nothing to be afraid of, because the police aren't going to do anything." Tori's nostrils flared and her angry eyes moved harshly onto Jade. "Also, Jade, what's up with putting that video online?"

Jade squirmed in her seat and closed her mouth for a moment as Beck moved his arm around her shoulders. "I don't know, I just thought-"

"Thought this was another time to be a bitch to someone? Because it's my sister, you think I'm going to be okay with it?"

"You _never_ say anything!" Tori flinched and Jade's hand slapped the table, sending a loud echo into the silence. "Half of the time you join us in treating her like shit, so quit acting like a damn princess that can't do anything wrong just because one of us put your sister in a hospital. You might as well have done it yourself, with how you act." Tori's eyes widened and she threw a hand over her chest.

"I'd never do that to her."

"Well it wasn't me, and besides, someone removed the video. I don't know how or who it was, but it's gone now. Happy?"

Rick scribbled Jade's and Andre's name down on a notebook and tilted up the corner of his mouth. "Two suspects already," he remarked, "But I'll have to question all of them." It was going to be hard to simply question them when he wasn't an official police officer. He needed to convince David to investigate, but then he needed to know why exactly his boss ordered the investigation halted. "Attempted murder will still put you away, so that's a good reason for no one to talk. Now, who had the motive."

He tapped his chin with his pen and studied the group. Just by hearing this conversation, it didn't sound like Tori had much motive at all. He wouldn't be surprised if it was her, because he'd seen just about everything through his work with Kate.

Jade mentioned the video being taken down from the internet. The only way someone could do that if they weren't the ones that put it up in the first place was through hacking, or if they had the money.

Tori rubbed her temples and perched her elbows onto the table. "The trouble I'm having here is that someone intended to hurt Trina." She opened her eyes halfway and swept her eyes across the friends. "She survived, and every crime show I've ever watched, every case I've ever heard dad talk about…when a victim survives, the person goes back to try and finish the job."

Beck chuckled in vain and hung his elbow over his chair. "Do you seriously think one of us is capable of murder, Tori?" Tori dropped her hands to the table and slid her back against the back plate of her chair.

"I'm sorry Beck, did you not see my sister flying around the stage like a damn ragdoll because one of you wanted to hurt her?"

Rick looked to the right where he spotted a tall brunette walking by. She had a cast on her left arm, a round face and was walking slowly as though she were in pain. "Trina…" His heart broke seeing her in this state. It was easy to see how she might feel like no one cared, as she stated in her letter, but he cared. "If only I fought back then."

Trina started to walk past the table, ignoring the friends, but stopped once Robbie spoke up. "Trina. Do you want to sit down?" Jade started to say something as well, but Tori cut her off, angrily demanding that her friends say nothing about Trina's current predicament.

"Since when do you offer her a seat?" Andre questioned. Robbie shrugged and Tori slanted her eyes at the boy. Trina continued past them and turned her head towards Rick's vehicle. Her eyes froze on him and her eyebrows curled up.

Rick's heart started to race and his hands trembled as the girl began to turn fully towards him. Her mouth opened and she took a careful step forward. He made eye contact with her, and the world around them faded as she approached the car.

"Y-You're here? How are you here?" Trina stammered and brought her hand down to the door of his red convertible, gripping it firmly. Her eyes filled with tears and her voice began trembling. "Why are you here?"

He held his breath and started to smile. "It sounded like you needed me to be here." Whatever was needed to be said, it escaped him. In this moment there was so much that he wanted to say and didn't know how to approach it. "I honestly don't know how to do this." Rick struggled to keep his composure and not to break under the tremendous pressure that he was feeling.

He struggled to remind himself of the many things he would love for his own father to say to him, and perhaps he could say it to Trina, but he wanted this moment to be authentic. Since he never knew his own dad, simply saying 'sorry I wasn't there' wasn't going to be enough. If it wasn't enough for him, then it wouldn't be enough for his daughter.

"I've dreamt about this." Trina's fingers tightened over the frame of his door. Her eyebrows meshed together and she pursed her lips for a moment before whisking the tears from her cheeks with her fingers. "I've dreamt about meeting you, meeting my birth family and just-just leaving."

"I know. There's so much that I can't explain." He breathed in slowly and watched her walk around the car and enter in on the passenger side. His eyebrow arched as she brushed her hair back and looked up to him. "What are-"

"Just drive. Please?"

"What about your classes?"

"I don't care." She looked at the school and frowned at the building. "Everyone's laughing about what happened to me, so I just don't want to be here." This was dangerous, only because he feared someone was out there, waiting for him to make contact with his daughter. Still he wanted to have this chance to be a father to her, to be there for her. Now that he was there, nothing would take away from that.

"Alright." He hit the button to bring the top over the convertible, then started driving. "Anywhere in particular you want to go?"

"No." He drove out of the parking lot and looked to Trina, still trying to figure out what to say. She hung her elbow out the window and brought her hand up to the side of her head. "Why did you let them take me?" Trina's eyes drifted to him and peered at him with startling intensity. "I've always wondered what life would be like if I'd never been adopted-or at least, not adopted by the people I'm with now."

"I wanted to take back custody." He let his shoulders fall and looked up to a changing stoplight. Rick felt a sudden heaviness and a stroke of guilt that he shook from his trembling heart. "There were things that, back then, were out of my control. Things I can't explain right now." Her lips pursed and she pushed her fingers into her hair.

"Then I have to ask." She dropped her hand and inhaled deeply. "I know my dad said he was getting some help with a case from New York detectives. Is that the reason you're here?"

He shook his head and made eye contact with her, then reassured her with a gentle smile. "I'm here because of you." Her lips curved up and she looked away. "I am helping Detective Beckett with a case that involves a serial killer, yes, but you're the primary reason that I chose to come to Los Angeles."

Trina wiped her tears from her cheeks and stammered for a minute before speaking out. "I know my last letter was…" She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I was emotional."

"I understand. I want to find out who did that as well, and I will." Trina parted her lips and looked to him with bewilderment.

"You would do that?" She closed her eyes and drew in a heavy breath. "You're a consultant for the NYPD, right? How can you investigate something here?"

"I'm not an official police officer." He took a right turn and glanced to the passing palm trees. Los Angeles was a breathtaking sight, although he was starting to miss New York. "Did I tell you when Beckett and I came to LA the first time?" She set her knuckles to her temple and turned her head to him, gazing with an eagerness in her.

"You said you were down here once before, but you didn't talk much about it."

"There's only so much you can put on a sheet of paper." He laughed and looked towards a stoplight in the distance. "There was an escaped convict that we were after, and of course he flew out here. We contacted the LAPD and flew down. Caught the man just near the border of Mexico." Trina smiled and looked away.

"I've always liked police work. I'd been thinking of becoming a police officer someday." Rick's eyes lifted up and a pang of fear struck his chest. Even now, Alexis displayed a budding interest in police work. What was it about this family that was attracted to law enforcement, he wondered. "So what was the most recent case you worked on?"

"A few weeks ago we worked on a case involving someone killed by an antique bullet." Trina's eyebrow rose and her lips pursed. "In the shadow of the night and a steampunk convention was involved." He smirked as Trina's face lit up with intrigue. "Perhaps I'll tell you more about that case another time?"

"Please do." Trina fell silent and looked off to the right. Rick turned his eyes from her and peered at the back of the car in front of them. His right forefinger tapped the steering wheel as the silence in the car surrounded them as though a mist threatening to separate them.

He wanted to let her lead the conversation, but her silence gave him the impression that she wanted him to lead. He sucked in a quick breath and turned into a Sonic Drive-in. "I hope you don't mind if we grab some food." Trina perked her head up and flashed a grin.

"I was getting hungry. I love Sonic. I always grab their foot-long."

"So do I." He watched as she let out an enthusiastic laugh. It was music to his ears and a comfort on his heart. Rick pulled into the closest parking spot and rolled down the window. "I have to be honest with you, Trina, I don't know what to say."

"Me either, but I don't want to make this awkward. I'm glad to see you in person." She moved her hand to her leg and bowed her head. His heart sank when he saw the inexplicable sadness in her eyes. "I didn't think I'd ever meet you, to tell the truth. When that harness broke, a part of me wished I would have died right there." He furrowed his brow and twisted fully towards her.

"Why?"

"Because no one gives a shit." She brought her hand up and swept her hair back. Her eyes drifted to the corners and her lips twisted into a frown. "My sister maybe showed up at the hospital one time to check on me. All my life I've known I was adopted, and all my life I thought it was because someone didn't want me." She lifted her head and let her shoulders slope downward. "I grew up thinking that, then my adoptive parents put all their damn focus on Tori-she's the 'perfect one', everyone at school loves her! I'm just 'Tori's ugly sister'. Even Jade has always told me how unwanted I am, 'nobody wants me', and all that crap."

"I'm truly sorry."

Fresh tears bled from her eyelids. She took a quick, shuddering breath, then wiped the tears away. "Yeah, so am I." Instinctively, Rick reached his hand over to her shoulder. She looked up into his eyes and curled her lips into a sorrowful smile.

"You're not unwanted."

"Then why didn't you fight for me? Why did I have to grow up the way I did?" There was a flash of anger in her eyes as her eyebrows dipped down in the middle and her muscles tensed. He pulled his hand from her shoulder and closed his eyes, struggling to push down the guilt. As her voice rose, her body began to shake, and each breath fell from her lips with rapid procession. "Why did I have to grow up being told by not only my family, but my sister's friends, that I was so worthless? So hated? What did I do to deserve that?"

"Nothing. You did nothing wrong." He wouldn't hide the truth of the matter from her, she deserved honesty. "I did want to fight for you, I didn't want the Vegas to take my child away because a social worker lied about my ability to parent." The tension left her body and her face appeared to sink.

"Then what stopped you?"

"I'm not completely sure." His breath clung to his throat for a split second before falling from his lips. "Somebody contacted me, and this same person has been calling me on and off for nearly two decades. Even the last time I was in Los Angeles, I received a letter…all threats, telling me to stay away, to not look into things, telling me to leave things alone or I'd lose my family." Her eyes grew and she started to stutter.

"Why? You were forced to give me up?"

"I don't know who the person was, I suspect they were connected to the social worker that took you. I want to look into it now, but I'm concerned about the risks…"

"Is being involved with me going to be dangerous?"

"No, I don't think so." He wasn't going to let anything happen, and from observing David, he was almost certain the man had a secure home. From the sounds of it, the most danger that Trina faced was her sister's friends. "Besides, you're my daughter, I'm not going to pass up the chance to get to know you." Her smile grew and her eyes lit up.

"Good. I'm glad." Trina looked to the menu and gasped delightedly. "Whopper milkshakes? They have those now?" He read the words 'limited time' and chuckled.

"Would you like to try one? It looks good." The flavor he was interested in was the banana shake with whoppers bits inside. They also had chocolate and strawberry. "Which one are you looking at?"

"Banana. I don't like strawberry, and chocolate shakes are boring."

"Alright, two banana whopper shakes it is."

"Oh don't forget the foot-long." He reached out to press the button, eager to order the food. He glanced over to see her checking her phone and turning it off. When she looked over, she shrugged and pushed the phone into her purse. "Tori was texting, wants to know where I'm at. She thinks one of her friends said something."

"She didn't seem too thrilled with them earlier."

"Yeah, she's upset over what happened, but knowing her, that'll pass and she'll go on with them as though nothing happened."

"That's not right."

"Well, I'm used to it." He heard the server's voice over the intercom and turned as Trina pointed to the menu. "Let's get the food. I don't want to think about Tori or her friends now."

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><p>So what are your thoughts on the chapter? Do tell, I'd love to hear your input!<p> 


	6. Fathers: Different Lives, Same Mind

Castle in LA

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 6 (Fathers: Different Lives, Same Goal)<p>

Entering into the hotel room, Rick saw Kate on the couch with papers and folders strewn out on the coffee table. Her brow was creased and her lips were pulled back into a frown. "Where have you been all day?" She asked the question with a voice full of agitation. It dealt a heavy blow to him, but he still wasn't ready to tell her about Trina.

"I've been driving around." Kate raised an eyebrow at him and folded her arms. Her eyes dropped to the folder in his hand, and her finger flicked out to it. He flinched and glanced down to the manila folder.

"What's that?"

"This?" He shrugged and started for the door to his room. "This is a personal project." It was as close to the truth that he was willing to give her. It wasn't the folder he brought with him, which dealt with investigation over finding that mysterious caller and the connection to Regina, it was a new folder that was to be used in investigating the circumstances surrounding what happened to his daughter. "Nothing to worry about, Beckett."

"Alright. So it seems you're not going to tell me what it is, at least tell me what the deal was with the conversation you seemed to have with Captain Vega." Rick smiled at her, then pushed open his door. "Castle?"

"I was getting to know the guy. I'll be in my room for a bit." He paused and glanced over his shoulder at the paperwork on the coffee table. Reluctantly, he set his folder down on the dresser next to the door and stepped back into the main room. "Have you found anything out with the serial killer yet?" Kate ran her hand through her hair and dropped her shoulders with a heavy sigh.

"No. I've profiled a little." He took a seat beside her and glanced down at the paperwork. "There are four types of serial killers. The Visionary, the Mission, Hedonistic, and Power-control serial killer. This guy seems to be between mission and hedonistic."

In criminal profiling, a mission serial killer picked their victims based off certain traits or characteristics and made it their mission to kill that person. Such as, killing people who had freckles, or those who wore blue socks. Typically they did not waste time torturing their victims.

The hedonistic killer took pleasure and thrill out of killing their victims. They might strangle a person until they passed out, then let go so the person could come back to be strangled again.

"There aren't any indicators that the killer took pleasure in killing his victims." Rick picked up the photo of the killer's most recent victim and pointed to the gashes on the arms. "These gashes are a signature, they're his or her way of telling us that he's the one killing them." Kate nodded and looked over some papers to her left.

"Then he's leaving their sins behind, giving us the reason _why_ he's taking their lives. They're corrupt." Instead of focusing on the victim, they needed to focus on the killer. Very likely this wasn't going to be the case of whether the victim had enemies or not. "So we are dealing with a mission serial killer. Someone that knows what they're doing and why they're doing it…The people in Regina's book may or may not be targeted."

"Those are just people Regina's connected with, and all of them are probably corrupt-given their connection to her. If the killer didn't have that list before, he has it now." He leaned back and furrowed his brow at Regina's photograph. He could feel a deep heaviness overtaking him, buffeting his emotions as a violent storm. "I have an idea of why the killer is choosing his victims."

"What are your thoughts?" The profile of a serial killer's common traits was that of a white male in their twenties or thirties. That said, the killer they were looking for might be in a similar boat that Rick had been in.

"Think about the victims. They may not all be connected personally, but just by their career, they're connected. Judges, lawyers, social workers-corrupted officials who have failed somebody." Kate brought her hand up to her chin and leaned back slowly. "They failed our killer at some point. Our killer may have lost a child because of these people-"

"And if he realized the people were corrupt, and that corruption was what made him lose his children?"

"Then he snapped. When was the first victim?"

"Two years ago, Martin Oliver." She grabbed up the papers on the victim and handed it over for him to read. "He was a lawyer in Los Angeles. Most of the victims have been here."

"So geographically he prefers California, which means he went out of his way to get the victims in New York." That would certainly imply a direct connection to the New York victims.

"I was trying to think of a connection, but these three victims all worked at one time for a judge by the name of Parker Ross." Struck by an idea, he was about to suggest locating this judge, but was cut off by his phone interrupting their process. Kate frowned at him when he answered the call.

"Castle here." It was David, much to his surprise. His eyebrows pushed up and his breath held in his throat. "Captain Vega?" Kate leaned over, as though trying to hear, but Rick rose from the couch. "How are you?"

"I'm good, Richard. I'd like to speak with you, in person." His muscles tensed and he brought his eyelids down halfway. "There's a coffee shop on Hollywood Blvd, meet me there in an hour. Just you, please."

"Okay. We have information on our serial killer that you may find useful."

"We can discuss that as well, Mr. Rodgers." He froze and held the phone to his ear long after the click of the call ending. He lowered the phone slowly and met Kate's inquisitive gaze.

It took him several seconds to recover from the shock. While it shouldn't be surprising that a police captain could figure out his real name, the tone in David's voice took it to another level.

"Captain Vega wants to meet up."

"Where?" Kate started collecting the paperwork. "Let me get everything in order."

"Just me, Beckett." He watched her eyes grow and waited as her body seemed to fall limp.

"Why does he want to meet with you only? That makes no sense."

"We'll see." If David figured him out, then he would at least not have to keep up a ruse with the man. This also meant, it was open season for figuring out just why David didn't take care of Trina like a father ought to.

"Parker Ross?" David bent his elbows on the café table and laced his hands together at his chin. His eyes narrowed and fell downwards. "I didn't think I'd hear that man's name again." Rick pulled the corners of his mouth back into his cheeks and pressed his lips together.

"You've dealt with him before?"

David closed his eyes and his nostrils flared out. The man's blue shirt was pressed down by a heavy breath. "His son. Samuel Ross. He's been a troublemaker and a thorn in the side of the police for some time." David opened his eyes partway, revealing a large amount of guilt. "The boy has been accused of everything from shoplifting to sexual assault, and every time, his father pays off the police."

"Over-privileged youth?"

"Yes." David leaned back and dropped his hand down beside his coffee cup. "Look, Richard, I'm not a bad cop. I want to make that clear." Rick grabbed his own coffee cup and brought it to his lips, studying the man's sloped shoulders and downcast face. "I work hard, sometimes too hard, but I'm just trying to rise up in ranks so I can work on the force."

"What do you mean?"

"This case has me thinking-all the corruption in these victims…the police force has their own corruption to deal with." Rick sipped his coffee and closed his eyes. "I joined the force thinking that I could clean it up, and I still want to, but it's hard when it's your own bosses that are corrupt."

"How high does it go?"

"It stops at the Chief, but he's old and easily manipulated by both the Assistant Chief and the Deputy Chief." David exhaled sharply and turned his eyes away. "District Attorney Thomas Shapiro, Judge Ross, they're friends with the Assistant and Deputy Chiefs. I can do nothing when they tell me to call off an investigation, or lose my job."

"So you're more concerned with losing your job than fighting the corruption?"

"No!" David slammed his hand down on the table and sat upright as his voice seemed to shake the room. "I can't do anything when my hands are tied, that's all I'm saying. I can't fix a problem if I don't have a job. Although, Detective Beckett tells me you tend to investigate even when it's not your job."

"I've done it. As for you, don't be afraid of losing your job, and do the right thing. Don't give me the 'it's not as easy as you think' excuse, either." David bowed his head and started to chuckle. "Now I don't care who is hiding behind your assistant chief or deputy chief, we need to stop that person."

"Do you think Judge Ross has anything to do with the killings?"

"I wouldn't know. Three victims worked for him, so based on that finding alone, we need to talk with him."

"He won't talk to me. We parted on less than friendly terms last time we spoke." Rick was astonished by the anger that flickered in David's eyes, but before he had a chance to ask, the emotion faded and David dismissed it. "Even if he's not a suspect, it's probably best that you or Detective Beckett speak with him-or, Detective Beckett, for that matter."

"What did you do to piss the man off?"

David's face tensed around his eyes and lips, then he closed his hands into tight fists that turned his knuckles white. Rick was taken aback by this, and immediately he wanted to backtrack and not pry as he normally would. "Let's just say I got into an argument with him regarding his son. It almost cost me my job, but at that time…I didn't care. After that, I just focused on trying to get ahead."

"Do I want to know? Or better yet, no, it doesn't involve me." David chuckled again and shook his head.

"It has been a few years, but too many times in the past I've been shut down by someone superior. Makes my job a living hell."

"I suppose. Why did you call me here, Captain? Surely not to discuss your past problems." He didn't want to hear any more of this man's trouble, especially since it was hard to sympathize with him.

"First, call me David. Your captain is Captain Montgomery." The man's voice trailed off and ended abruptly as a brief look of anguish came over him. "I need to know, Detective Beckett told me you initially didn't want to come to Los Angeles. I think I know why you're here."

"I'm here to help solve a series of murders, Dave." He answered softly, so as not to give away his agitation with this man. Everything Trina told him about her family, and about how absent her father was, made him want to attack the guy. Still, he wanted to remain as civil as possible.

"I'm not an idiot, Richard. You don't have to treat me as one." David straightened himself and narrowed his eyes. "I know the look of an angry and scorned father, wishing to kill someone that wronged their child. I was that person once. I still am, but things are much harder, and I know that's not an excuse. It's the truth, there are things I'd like to do, but I can't do."

Rick set his hands down on the table and moved his right hand over his left. He sucked in a deep breath and held it in the back of his throat for several seconds while maintaining a strong hold on David's gaze.

"So you know?" David's body relaxed and his eyes dropped down to the table.

"I know. Yes."

"I _am_ still here to help stop a serial killer." The man's gaze shot back to Rick's and his voice dropped so low that it became difficult to hear.

"But after that? Do you intend to take her away? We're both impulsive men, Richard, I'm well aware of that."

Rick released his breath and narrowed his eyes. "I'd do anything for my children, David." David exhaled slowly and flattened his hands on the table. "I don't know what it is you're afraid of, but let me tell you right now." He leaned forward and flared his nostrils angrily while commanding David's attention with his own heated gaze. "If someone hurt my daughter, and as a result someone powerful paid off Captain Montgomery-I don't care who it is or what that means for me, I'm not letting anybody get away with it."

"And I know that feeling. Believe me."

"Then prove it." David frowned as a low growl escaped Rick's throat. "Trina has been sending letters to us, and we've been in correspondence. She's told me how negligent you are, and how much she's treated like a piece of trash by her sister's friends, but you and Holly as well. If you claim to know how it feels, then tell me, what am I thinking right now?"

"Nothing good, I imagine." He couldn't contain his anger any longer now that it was out in the open. He balled up his fists and crossed his arms as David appeared to shrink before him.

"And about your second daughter…"

"I know what you were told." David closed his eyes and shook his head. "Believe me, Holly and I were certain that we could not have children. Primarily, the doctors were certain _I_ couldn't get anybody pregnant. So we applied for adoption at that agency that your social worker was working for, but we didn't know who Regina was-we had no connection to that woman. They gave us Trina, and then Holly became pregnant with Tori. We didn't lie to you that day, Richard."

"I see." It was a relief to know they didn't lie, but he still couldn't help the feeling of betrayal he had. Regardless, David didn't appear to know about the threats that he received.

"What would you have me do to show you that I do still care, even if it's too late to show my daughters that? What would you have me do to show you?"

"First realize that Trina is old enough to make her own decisions. I didn't come to take her from you, I came because she wanted me to." David nodded slowly and Rick reached again for his coffee. He didn't want to acknowledge that he'd been thinking about suggesting that Trina come see them in New York, he believed fully that she'd have a better life there. "Second, I want to know why the hell you're not looking into those friends of Tori's, to see who was responsible for putting her in the hospital."

"You think it's one of them? You've been looking into that?"

"Of course I have been, because evidently nobody else is." He took a sip of his drink, then set it down heavily on the table. "Robert Shapiro, Beck Oliver, Jade West, Andre Harris, Catherine Valentine, and Tori were the only people in that auditorium at the time and the only ones that had access to that harness. So we need to find out who did it, and why they did it."

"My thoughts are on Robbie, to be perfectly honest."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because the reason that I haven't been investigating is because I've been forced to call the police off that case." David brought his hands up under his chin once more and stretched his lips into a scowl. "Because somebody high up paid my boss and demanded I discontinue any investigation, or lose my promotion and my job. Of all Tori's friends, only one of them has a relative with any power to pay off the police."

"Robbie."

"Exactly."

Rick scoffed at the man and looked away, unable to look at him without malice. "There you go, more concerned with your damn career than your daughter."

"That's not it, but if it means anything to you-"

"It's not me that you should be concerned with, let me make that perfectly clear right now." He glared sideways at David and slanted his eyes. David's shoulders sank and the man sighed heavily.

"I believe that bridge has already been lost, Richard. It wouldn't be the first time that I'd been called off from something that happened to her. In her eyes, she sees a father that doesn't care enough about her to protect her, to care about her, and no matter what I do…she'll always resent me for it. Just the fact that she wanted you to come here means she thinks you'll be the one to protect and look out for her where I haven't."

"And your wife?"

"My wife is more what you're initially angry with me for. She loves both her children, but Trina's right to feel like Holly loves Tori more. Tori's the child that came from her, so even when she doesn't mean to, she favors Tori and appears to ignore Trina."

"I see…"

David sat upright and lifted his shoulders. The man's eyes slanted with a determined look and his lips pulled back into his cheeks. "You have my full permission to look into the incident at Trina's school. Investigate Tori's friends, and whatever you find-come to me. I want to know who did it and why it happened, and I want to know why someone told my boss to keep us from investigating it."

"You're not worried about your job?" Rick started to sneer and spoke with clear scorn. David flinched for the moment and exhaled.

"I suppose I deserve that. Your scorn won't go away. I should have done more, I know that, and I've known that for years now. I don't care for atonement or redemption, it won't happen-but she's as much my daughter as she is yours. People won't trace you investigating directly back to me, that's true, but that lack of obviousness will help extend the time we have of figuring it out."

"Okay."

"Now." David's eyelids opened halfway and Rick turned his gaze fully onto the man. "Tori has her friends over every other night to play a game of poker. Tonight is their game night, but understand…I don't expect them to play tonight." Rick raised an eyebrow and David pointed to him. "I expect you to be there tonight, and I expect you to question them all."

"And what will you?"

"I will convince Holly she needs to take the girls out shopping at the last minute. That way, Tori doesn't tell her friends to cancel their plans. When Holly takes the girls out, I'll stay there. I want to know the truth as much as you do, and I'm willing to do what it takes to get it out of them. Don't think I don't know how disrespectful that little group is…but you're right, this is one thing I'm not letting them get away with."

He started to smile and extended his hand. "Good to hear." David returned the handshake and smiled back at the man. "Now, what will we do about Judge Ross? We still have to talk to him about the connection to the three victims, but you don't want to talk with the man."

"My presence would only cause him to withdraw. Not to mention, I don't trust myself around that man or his son. He doesn't know you or Detective Beckett, so he'll not close himself off to a conversation with one of you. It's best to go that route."

"I understand." He was still curious and suspicious about this man, but he wasn't going to pry unless it was necessary. "I will swing by tonight to question those kids about the harness incident, and believe me, I don't plan on backing down until we can find out the truth."

"That's also why I'll still be there. I don't know that any of them know you're Trina's birth father, so they won't be as open to talk to you without me there. Even though I think the person responsible was Robbie, I'd like not to pursue a witch hunt on him on the chance that it was someone else…"

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><p>So what are your thoughts here? Any observations? I know of only one of my readers that will probably recognize something here enough to get a brief idea of what's going on. I'd love to hear all of your insights, so do leave your thoughts.<p> 


	7. One Wing in the Fire

Castle in LA

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

* * *

><p>Chapter 7 (A Wing in the Fire)<p>

That night, Rick made his way to the Vega home while leaving behind his annoyed partner. Kate wasn't thrilled that David was requesting his help with something that she didn't know anything about, but she seemed more perturbed that he wouldn't discuss it with her.

He arrived just as Holly was guiding the women to the car in haste. When he stepped out of the car, his eyes connected with the woman's, and she faltered in her step as recognition flashed in her eyes. _"David hasn't told her about me,"_ he thought, _"I wonder why that is." _ Holly flung herself into the car and started it up, then backed off before Trina or Tori could spot him.

"She was in a hurry to leave," Rick said upon entering the home. David was standing with his hands at his hips and his shoulders strong. "Though, once she saw me, raced off even faster."

"She wasn't aware of you until tonight, so when I pressed her to take the girls out, I told her you were coming by to talk to Tori's friends about the harness." Rick looked around the empty living room and became perplexed as to where the group was. David motioned over his shoulder and at the back door. "They're all out back right now. They know I have some questions for them, but I've not talked to them about everything."

If they were out back, then there could be a possibility of them leaving the area. He didn't want that happening. "Do you have a gate out back?" David shook his head and turned to the back door.

"No, it's all fenced in, and the fence is high enough that they won't simply climb out. They could try, but why do that if they're not guilty of anything?"

"You'd be surprised. Kate and I have had the most innocent people run at the sight of us just because they think they're in trouble for something that we don't care about. People think we deal with drugs, border patrol, and all that-but we're simply homicide." David chuckled once and crossed his arms.

"Right. Well, that said, let's get this underway. The last person that tried to get anything out of them was Lane. The school guidance counselor, and he interrogated them as a group."

"Then we interrogate them individually." He removed his jacket and put it on the coat rack. His eyes drifted to the kitchen table beside the counter and his lips turned up into a smile. "That table looks like a fine place to sit them at."

"Okay, that's where we'll do this. I just want to be careful how we go about this, Richard." David walked towards the glass door and let out a sharp exhale. "If it's Robbie, and if his father had a hand in doing this, then I could get shut down."

"It involves our daughter, David. Doing the right thing should be more important than losing your job."

"I know, but if I get shut down, then I can't do my job. That's the thing. If I lose my job, we can no longer investigate anything-even the serial murders." He understood this risk, so he was going to do what he could to avoid that issue. It was good to see that David's concern wasn't out of cowardice so much as a sense of duty being lost.

"If his father is responsible for paying off your boss, and Robbie should go to the man, I'll take responsibility for it. Trina is my daughter as well, they'll have to understand just how far I'd be willing to go."

"Right." Rick sat at the table and watched David reach for the door. "Who do we bring first?" He saw the dark haired girl approach and peer inside with wide eyes. Rick gestured to her and David looked back. "Jade first, then."

Jade pushed open the door and entered. Rick could feel her inquisitive stare burning him, studying him. "It's you," she whispered, "Trina's birth dad. What are you doing here? I thought she hadn't told her family yet."

"She didn't," David muttered. The man put a hand to Jade's shoulder and guided her to the table. She seemed to resist the push, but when she saw the fierce look in the man's eyes, she complied. "He came because of what happened to Trina." Jade's jaw dropped and she snapped her gaze back to Rick. "He's a profiler for the New York police department, and is helping us with an unrelated case."

"Unrelated case?"

"Unrelated to what we're working on tonight." David sat down in the chair beside Rick and folded his hands on the table. "I'm reopening the case involving my daughter."

"I had nothing to do with it." Jade was quick to defend herself, though the swiftness was a bit suspicious. There was an honest glint in her eyes, but her overall appearance and the demeanor that he'd been told about her gave him the sense that she was a callow and despicable woman capable of hurting someone. "I know what you must think of me, Mr. Vega, but I wouldn't go so far as to kill someone. What was done was clearly an attempt on her life-it isn't something that I would do."

"Isn't it?" David's eyes darkened and he leaned forward, striking the table harshly with his palm. "I may not be an active force in my daughters' lives, but I'm observant if nothing else." His voice started to rise, causing Jade to slouch and shrink in her chair. "I've seen how you talk to my children, I've seen how you act and how you look at them. You don't respect either of them, so if you want to tell me you're not capable of hurting one of them, offer me something to back it up."

Jade closed her eyes and brought her hand up to her mouth. Her eyebrows pushed together and dipped down in the middle. "Okay Mr. Vega." Rick was surprised by the sudden fire in the man, but it was a pleasant surprise, if nothing else. "I do have my reasons for being the way I am, believe me, but I did not hurt Trina. I know how it will sound, but you have to believe me…"

"How will it sound?" Rick asked. Jade's eyes fell to the side and she shrugged.

"Bad." The girl cleared her throat and crossed her arms. "When we first met Tori, she was flirting with Beck." He glanced to David, the man's arms were crossed and his face was twisted in anger. "Beck didn't do anything about it, and he still doesn't say anything to Tori. Out of spite she kissed him in a class theater lesson, it was improv, so he could have told her no. He could have pushed her away, but he just let her kiss him. After that, any time I get upset with her, he shuts _me_ up-he even invited her to the table we all sat at, against my own wishes. That would give me motive to do something, right? But not to Trina, I swear."

Rick leaned back and tapped his chin with the knuckle of his forefinger. "Revenge, hurt Tori by hurting someone close to her?" Jade gasped and brought her hands up defensively.

"Of course not! Besides, Tori's the one that's always criticizing and talking trash about her own sister. I wouldn't call that close by any means-she has more motive for hurting Trina than any of us!" Rick hunched forward and stared into Jade's eyes.

"Are you implicating Tori of this?"

"No. I'm just saying she has more reason than I would." Jade lowered her hands and looked to the door. "Neither I nor Beck were anywhere near that harness." She frowned and started to tense up. "We were in the auditorium to help set up the play, but we were otherwise preoccupied."

"What do you mean?" Jade pressed her lips together and slowly shook her head. "Jade?" Her chest expanded and her fingers curled into the palms of her hands. "If you were elsewhere, we need to know."

"Fine. I didn't want to bring it up before because of how it sounds, but…" She rolled her eyes and pulled her hair back over her shoulder. "We were making out in one of the chairs in the auditorium." Rick's eyebrows rose up and David looked over. "We got into a fight because he was trying to talk me into sex, and I wasn't interested in doing it in school." She crossed her arms and shrugged. "It was dark, and he thought if he only unzipped his pants and…" She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Well, nothing happened because I wasn't going to put out, so we ended up fighting for the rest of the day. Beck will back that up, I'm sure."

"So there's a chance you didn't see anything on the stage?"

"Right. Same with Beck…" She bowed her head and let her eyes drift up to Rick. "Are you going to take Trina to New York, by the way?" He leaned back slowly and started to frown. "I don't know a lot, I just know she was sending letters. She seems happy when she has those letters of yours, so I was wondering if she wanted to leave LA for you…"

"I don't know. It's her choice to make, not mine. Unless I have a reason to fight for that, I won't do anything."

"Someone hurt her. I know that. I know it was one of them, but it wasn't me and it wasn't Beck." Jade took another heavy breath and turned her misty gaze to the door. "Andre's the only one that didn't even bother telling Lane what he was doing that day, and his only concern was seeing his girlfriend. You might question him?"

It was suspicious enough, but until they had motive, they couldn't suspect him. "Go upstairs," David stated, "You're free to go home. We'll question Beck and send him on his way."

"Thanks. I'll answer any questions you have." Jade's voice fell quiet and she rose up from the table. "I'll cooperate, and if I hear anything…I'll let you know. I want to know who did it too, I don't like people thinking I had something to do with it just because I seem like the likeliest person. Just because I'm an angry person and I act like it, it doesn't mean that I would try to kill someone."

In his experience, sometimes it was the one most likely to commit the crime, but there were times when it wasn't. Overall, it fell on the person with the greatest reason for committing the act. So far, it sounded like Jade didn't have a strong reason, but time would tell.

Once Jade left, Rick turned to David, expecting his opinion. "What are your thoughts?" David grumbled for a moment and shrugged.

"She's a violent natured person, I've always noticed that. Just the way Tori's described their interactions from time to time, and what I've heard Trina complain about, I know she's a violent person." David lifted his head and stared at his front door. "But not once have I ever noticed or heard of an instance where she has been dishonest. I know the most honest person can lie, but if she were to lie, there would be a reason for it. We'll see what her boyfriend has to say."

Her boyfriend didn't turn up any interesting information, but agreed that he and Jade had gotten into a fight after making out in a darker spot of the auditorium. The girl with the dyed hair was an emotional basket-case, crying over the thought of one of her friends intentionally trying to hurt somebody. She insisted that she'd been working with the costume designer and was nowhere near the mechanics or the harness. Cat had neither the time nor the mentality, in Rick's mind, to knowingly commit this crime.

Andre was next, and he took his seat with casual movements. Despite being interrogated, he was acting far too comfortable. "Let me tell you something." Rick began the moment he made eye contact with Andre. The boy sat upright and smiled pleasantly at him. "Some time ago, my partner and I investigated the shooting of a student at a private school. A group of kids, not much different than your little clique, decided they were going to be arrogant and smarter than the investigators." Andre frowned and folded his hands in his lap. "That's not going to happen here."

"Sorry, I'm just trying not to appear nervous." Andre swallowed and closed his eyes. "I know how it looks, that I wasn't helpful when talking to Lane and all that, I just-"

"How'd that go, by the way?" Rick waved his hand in circular motion while smirking at the dismayed man. "The date you were so eager to get to without being late. Did it go well? Are you still seeing that girl?" Andre dropped his head and let his body go limp.

"No sir."

"Did she dump you because you were late?"

"No, she understood Lane was keeping us. We rescheduled, then decided it wasn't going to work between us." He stifled a laugh. It wasn't easy to hear that Andre had been so concerned about a date that he didn't value the life of someone else, but over the years he'd heard his fair share of far more disturbing tales. "It was only because I thought Trina was okay. I thought it wasn't going to matter."

"Oh it matters. Trying to cause someone severe injury, putting their life at risk, it's still a crime. Even if they survive, it's still a crime, and you could be charged with aiding a criminal."

"It wasn't like that." Andre spoke quickly and with fear in his voice. "I swear I didn't do anything." He brought his hands to his chest and a trickle of sweat ran along the side of his face. "I wouldn't hurt her. Look, none of us really like her all that much, I'll admit to that, but not enough to hurt her." Rick had to restrain himself from lashing out at the man for his words. It was difficult to hear someone say they didn't like Trina, and he truly wanted to get her away from all of this nonsense.

"Could it have been done as a joke? Maybe a joke that got out of hand? Maybe you didn't think she was going to get hurt the way she did?"

"No, I swear." Andre's body shook as his eyes darted to the door. The man spoke in a rushed whisper and leaned forward. "But that guy out there? Robbie? You might talk to him, he's got some whacked out thoughts. Tori's always talking about how he's sometimes hiding in the bushes…Then that puppet of his, it's creepy enough that he acts like the thing is a living, breathing person."

David wrote down his notes over the issue and Rick turned to the door. He brushed his chin with his finger and exhaled. "Are you implying that he might have had something to do with what happened?" Andre scoffed and waved his hand in the air.

"Implying? I'm not implying that he might have, I'm saying that if anybody had something to do with what happened-it was Robbie. Beck and Jade have their own problems to deal with, Cat couldn't hurt a fly to save her life, and I've got nothing truly against Trina."

"Then we're done here," David replied, "For now." The man stood and walked towards the door. Andre nodded abruptly and left the house. When Robbie stepped in David brought his hand hard against Robbie's shoulder and motioned to the table. "Sit down, Robert."

Robbie whimpered and pulled away from David. He rubbed his shoulder and walked to the chair. "Whatever's going on, I didn't do it." Robbie was holding his puppet in his left hand and was looking nervously at the object. "Rex might know something, though."

"The doll is just a doll." David grabbed the puppet's head and threw it onto the couch nearby, causing Robbie to scream out. Rick was impressed, but also concerned that David wasn't in total control of his emotions. "I want the truth." The man leaned over Robbie's right shoulder and slammed his hand on the table. Robbie glanced down at the photo of Trina that they put down.

"I uh, I thought this was already done."

"No, we haven't found the person responsible yet." Rick stood up and motioned for David to take a seat. "You need to relax, David. Let me handle from here." David did as suggested. Robbie began to tremble as Rick stepped behind him and placed a heavy hand onto his shoulder. "Understand that we will not stop until we have figured this out, so it would be to your benefit to cooperate."

"But-"

"Each of your friends has suggested that you may have had something to do with what happened." Not to mention Andre's most compelling piece of information. The fact that Robbie seemed to spy on the family was telling. Another issue that had been given was done so by Beck, when he said there was a short period of time Robbie had an obsession with Trina after a stage kiss in some play. Though the kiss wasn't real, Robbie thought it was. "I'd first like to discuss your obsession with the girls."

"Obsession?" Robbie ran his hand through his hair and laughed nervously. "W-What obsession?"

"You've been hiding in the bushes," David growled. Robbie flinched and bowed his head. "This, after a brief obsession with my daughters. You've been stalking them." David sneered and started to rise, but Rick motioned for him to stay seated, so he remained in place.

"Now I'm with him on this." Rick removed his hand from Robbie's shoulder and moved over to the side of the table. He leaned over it and placed his hands down between the two men, then glanced over to Robbie. "See, I'd love to let him tear you apart, and I would join him, but that's not going to accomplish anything in our investigation."

Robbie whimpered and looked from David to Rick. "Why?" The question came out in a stutter. Rick took great pleasure in watching the beads of sweat form above the boy's glasses. "Why do you care?" David answered for him.

"Trina's adopted, Robbie. This man is her birth father." Robbie cringed. David crossed his arms and leaned back. "Now I suggest you start talking. I want to know why you're sneaking around my house at night, I want to know what happened that put my daughter in the hospital, and I want to know now. Richard here wishes to know as well."

"M-My dad said he'd handle it."

"Your father can pay off the police, but not when the police happens to be the father of the victim in question." David's voice rose and he stood from the table, nearly knocking the chair over in the process. "And when you say your father was going to handle it, what do you mean? I don't need another boy getting away with hurting my daughter by getting his damned father to pay off the investigators." Rick's heart stopped and his eyes darted over to David. His body began to heat up as David roared at the boy. "Start explaining yourself, for god's sake, or I am going to send that infernal puppet of yours to a lumber yard."

"I'm sorry, I'll stop sneaking around the house." Robbie brought his hands to his face and began weeping. "Please. It wasn't my fault, honest."

"Why the hell, then, don't I believe you?"

"This isn't right." Robbie wiped his eyes and pushed himself from the table. His chest heaved as he rushed for the puppet on the couch and looked over. "D-Dad always says, I don't have to talk if I don't want to. I don't have anything more to say." David scowled as Robbie rushed out the door.

"Well that went well." Rick brought his hand to his forehead and rolled his eyes. "I was trying to avoid having that happen." David let out a frustrated groan and moved into the kitchen. "What's going on with you right now?"

"What do you think? One of my daughters' friends' is stalking them. Someone I let into my house hurt one of the girls." David threw open the refrigerator door and grabbed a bottle of beer. "'You work too much', that's what my wife always tells me. I work too much and I don't pay attention to people, that makes me over-trusting, it makes me gullible. She's not wrong!"

"We will solve this." He took a deep breath and moved to the counter. "It's difficult for me too, more so because I never got the opportunity to be there for my daughter. To protect her from people like this, but this is the type of stuff I'm afraid of happening to Alexis. I know what you're going through." David turned and his nose crinkled.

"Alexis sounds great, happy, she was given a good life."

"I made certain of it."

"That social worker, Regina. She made you out to be an asshole who didn't give a shit about your children, but it seems like Trina would have had a better life with you." David's teeth clenched as he twisted the cap off the beer bottle. "Hell, even now it looks like you're going to be the one to be the hero for her." David spread his arms out and scoffed. "Not me. Not the man who raised her…" Rick's heart sank as he watched the man turn a downcast gaze on the bottle. "No, I failed her. Twice. Or maybe more than that. All I have to do is look at her, and you can see it in her eyes."

Rick's stomach twisted and he started to extend his hand to pat the man's shoulder. "Now Dave-" David pulled away and took a swig of the drink.

"Go back to your hotel. I'm sure you and Detective Beckett have some more information to go over on the serial murderer." He lowered his hand and forced out a heavy breath. There was something deeply wrong, something that happened in the past that David wouldn't talk about, and it was concerning to him. Still he wasn't going to pry, whatever it was would be said whenever the time was right.

"And David?" He grabbed his coat from the rack and looked over with a sad frown. "Take it easy."

"Sure." The man took another drink and waved him off after setting the bottle back on the counter.

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><p>Well the interrogations went well. Come on people, I want to hear your input, I learn from it and value it. I'm happy to see all of you enjoying it, and 10 favorites a day is pretty good, but I'd love to hear your opinion too. As for those of you leaving your thoughts, I appreciate it very much<p> 


	8. Enforcer

Castle in LA

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

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><p>Chapter 8 (Enforcer)<p>

Rick went straight to his room when he arrived to the hotel suite. Kate was up waiting for him, but he didn't feel like talking to her at the time. Thinking over the events of the harrowing night made him sick to stomach. On impulse he called Alexis to see how she was doing.

When she answered, he heard the sound of a blender running in the background. "What are you cooking over there?" He asked, opting to start the conversation with food rather than just the standard 'I miss you'.

"Grandma is making a vegetable shake," Alexis yawned, "In the middle of the night." He laughed at the thought and sat on the hotel bed. "Esposito and Ryan have been checking on us constantly, so I don't think we'll be getting much sleep. Do you really think we're in any danger, dad?"

"I don't know. I've actually spent time with Trina, and of course I have to work alongside her father on this a couple of cases. I don't want to take the chance that whoever has been threatening me these years will or won't take action." He kicked his left leg over his right and turned his gaze onto the desk beside the television stand.

He'd left the folder on his personal investigation open and each letter was stacked on the top as he'd been reading through them earlier. "Dad? How is Trina?" His lips curved up at the corners and his eyelids closed over his eyes.

"She has grown to be an outstanding woman, I can tell you that much. We spent a few hours together, and she had much to say. She's a fan of my novels, and has a deep interest in police work as well as forensics. She also takes classes in martial arts, I believe she's been doing that for about three or four years now."

"Sounds great. I wonder how she got interested in that." From what he remembered, Trina had a friend who got her involved in martial arts for self-defense. That friend moved to New York about a year ago. It upset her at the time, and she confessed to still having issues with it.

"She had a friend get her into it. Lindsay, I believe was the girl's name. Moved to New York about a year ago." His shoulders fell and his lips pressed together as he listened for a response from Alexis. The blender silenced in the background and Alexis let out a disgusted groan. "Is it that bad?"

"It's green, and not just any green, but it looks like something my stomach rejected." The girl shuddered and Rick started to laugh. "So, her friend moved to New York? Must be hard for her, I mean, does it ever bother her knowing we're up here?"

"She said it did, she's known about her adoption most of her life, but didn't know us until sometime recently. She knew her family was in New York, though, because David and Holly told her that a long time ago." What had been more surprising was that Trina had taken a trip to New York a few years ago to see if she could locate her birth family.

"Does she want to see us, Dad? To meet me, and to meet Grandma?"

He sat upright, pushing himself up along the headboard, then smiled while softening his tone. "Of course." It warmed him to think of both his daughters meeting up, though he was still nervous about bringing his family to Los Angeles. "There's still a chance that would mean a dangerous situation, so I'm not sure if it's a good idea to bring everybody together just yet." The groan that followed him shook him up.

"We're fine, Dad, nothing has happened and nothing's going to happen." Alexis paused and Rick listened as Martha spoke in the background. "Dad, I need to go, Grandma wants my help with something."

"Okay." He closed his eyes as she gave her farewell. He wanted to ask how she'd react if Trina were there, but part of him figured now wasn't the best time to be asking such questions when nobody had the slightest idea of the future.

The next morning, Kate and Rick made their way to the office of Judge Parker Ross. Kate had most of the questions prepared for the man, so this was slated to go smoothly, or so he hoped. Even on the drive over, he couldn't stop trembling enough to swallow the nervousness inside.

Whatever happened between this man and David, he couldn't pry in and ask, but he got the feeling it was something that he would not like knowing.

As they walked into the office, the sound of a man shouting stopped them in their tracks. The judge, tall and in his mid-fifties was being cursed out by a broad shouldered, slack-jawed man that appeared in his late teens. The boy had a blonde, V-shaped hairstyle that was cut short, and angry blue eyes.

"I said enough," the boy remarked aggressively, "Let it die." Rick raised an eyebrow as Parker bent over his desk and eyed the boy with an icy glare.

"She will ruin everything, son. Samuel, If word gets out-"

"I've already lost everything. My fiancé wants nothing more to do with me, my college scholarship's been revoked, I have nothing left. This should have been dealt with three years ago. I'm turning myself in whether you want me to or not, I want to be done with this!"

The father could hardly get a word in edgewise as his son continued to rebuke him. His son turned and stormed off, his eyes were full of anger and a strange remorse. "Let her destroy your career, dad, I don't give a shit." The boy's eyes darted to Rick and Kate, and when Rick's eyes met with his, he felt a shiver rush down his spine.

Rick moved forward and spoke absently to Parker. "What was that all about?" The man drew an exhausted sigh and waved his hand through the air. Parker took a seat and laced his fingers together over his desk. The man glanced up at Rick and flared his nostrils.

"Tell me this, if your son were willing to throw his entire future away for a stupid mistake, would you not do anything you could to stop him from that choice?"

"It depends on the mistake, but this hardly seems my place." Rick motioned to Kate, then the folder in her hands. "We have a few questions for you." He could feel his hair standing on end as the judge continued to study him. His stomach tightened and the acid inside swished about as a violent storm. "We're with the NYPD, but collaborating with the LAPD." His voice grew hoarse as he looked into the man's ghastly blue eyes, and he was struck with a sudden and unexplainable anger.

"What is this about?"

Kate removed three photos from her folder and set them down in front of Parker. "These three worked for you at one time." The man gathered up the photos and pressed his lips together. "Do you recognize them?"

"Vaguely. Regina worked for me a couple of years ago. Mr. Dennison here I know from the 90's, and Martin Oliver worked for me briefly in the early 2000s.  
>The man lifted his gaze above the pictures and huffed. "Why?"<p>

"They're dead." Kate breathed in and waited for the man to react, but no reaction came. "They're tied together in death, and they are connected through working with you."

"Certainly you do not believe I am responsible."

"No, we are simply trying to find a connection. Do you know if they have ever worked together on anything? It's possible they share a client, and they would have had to come through your court."

The man ran his finger across his chin and shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't help you there. I have been through many cases, and certainly do not remember anything." Parker leaned back slowly and looked once more to Rick, causing his stomach to flip. "Richard Castle, is it? You're helping the police department here? Is that it?" Rick nodded slowly and closed his hands.

"Yes sir."

"Have you run into Captain Vega recently?" Parker smiled and his eyes glinted with an uncertain emotion. Rick wavered in his response, and wasn't sure just how much information he wanted to give. "I heard what happened to his daughter, I hope he's holding out well."

"He seems to be doing well."

"And his daughter?"

"I think she's fine as well." The energy in the room faded and he found himself struggling to breathe. "He couldn't make it today, he seemed to imply that the two of you parted on less than friendly terms."

"Yes, well…" Parker glanced to the photo of Regina once more and slid his forefinger up his left cheek. "I remember now, I worked as well with Regina in the very early 90's when I was still in New York City."

"Oh, and did you know Judge Roy Abraham?"

"I worked closely with him, we were friends in law school." Parker's head rolled to the right and his lips curled into a smile that struck fear in Rick. "Tell me, is he involved in this case?"

"We found his name on a list beside one of the victims, it's possible that he might be targeted." He swallowed the lump in his throat and averted his eyes. "Do you know where we can find him?"

"He plays golf at the Ranchero Golf Course on Sundays." His neck was moist from sweat forming around his collar and shoulders. Kate was giving him a peculiar look, but saying nothing despite her piqued curiosity. "You're only here about this case, Richard?"

His eyes darted to a document on the man's desk, his handwriting was scribbled all across the page. Rick's heart stopped and a cold feeling rushed through his veins as he studied the all too familiar handwriting.

_"It can't be."_ His lips pressed against each other and a cold sweat was overwhelming his body. "Just this case, yes. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Anytime. You're welcome to come by the office if you have any further questions."

"Thank you." He turned and hurried from the room with Kate quick in tow. _"I'm going to be sick. It has to be a coincidence, nothing more."_ The handwriting was the same exact handwriting that had been in the letters he'd been receiving all these years, but the man's voice wasn't familiar enough to him.

In the corner of his eyes he saw Sam Ross standing with his back against the wall and his arms crossed. The boy's face was tense and eyes, just as cold as his father's, was glaring across the room. When the boy spotted them, his nose crinkled and he pushed himself from the wall.

"Hey." Ross approached them and unfolded his arms. "Heard you were talking to my father. What about?"

"We can't disclose that," Kate replied, "But if you have anything to help with a case we're working, we'd appreciate it, Sam."

"Just call me Ross."

"Ross. Okay. You seemed pretty upset with your father, is there anything we can do to help you?" Ross shook his head and glanced up at Rick.

"Not entirely. Listen, my dad is a prick, I want to give you a heads up, he's probably going to lie about anything. So be prepared for that." Ross's eyes narrowed and he glared at the now closed office door. "A few years ago he ordered me to date this chick-it didn't end well." Rick's eyebrow rose as the boy glanced to the right and shifted nervously. "Anyway, my point. I heard you were from the NYPD?"

"That's correct," Kate answered.

"My understanding of the legal system is crimes that fall into a particular state, that state has jurisdiction. Correct?" Kate nodded and Rick crossed his arms. Ross was fishing for something, so he was curious what that was. "So, if I were to turn myself in for something that I did in New York?"

"We're homicide detectives, but regardless of the circumstances, we cannot make an arrest here without the support or permission of the LAPD. If you've committed a crime, you'll have to go to the police department if you're confessing." She fell silent for a moment and furrowed her brow. "Are you confessing to something you've done, by the way?"

"I'm curious. Besides…" Ross nodded to the office door and scowled. "Dear old dad in there has more skeletons in his closet than anyone I know. I'm not sure why you wouldn't look to him as a suspect in anything." Kate looked over her shoulder and hummed softly.

"You said your father forced you to date somebody, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"A statement about his reputation." Ross's lips twisted into a vicious sneer, but his eyes were devoid of any emotion. "His plan backfired. So yes, I would like to turn myself in for a crime that I willingly participated in, which happened in New York three years ago." Ross closed his eyes and groaned out his disgust. "The girl I was dating at the time, my father wanted me to discourage her from something stupid, and what I did has not left me yet. Now that girl still has evidence she kept, apparently, and she wants to bring forward the proof she has that my father bribed the police to keep things 'quiet'."

"How did you come to be in New York?" Rick inquired. Ross's eyelids opened partially and his eyes moved onto him.

"She was looking for family." Rick's blood ran cold and hatred flickered in his heart. "My father wanted to stop that search. He's always been concerned about certain issues becoming public, whatever that means." Rick turned slowly, glaring at the door.

Whatever crime Ross was about to confess to, he knew the boy was doing it because the girl was preparing to fight. That meant this girl was strong, but he wasn't sure if he was strong enough to hear what Ross might have done.

Regardless of the younger, he was now more frightened and concerned about the judge behind the door. Could this man be the same person that was threatening him all these years? In that case, would the girl Ross was talking about be Trina?

His right upper lip twitched and he started to ask what Ross was talking about, but the opening of the office door silenced him. "Are you all still here?" Parker asked in annoyance. "I was certain I answered all to my ability, we're done here. My son has nothing to do with this, so there's no reason to be talking to him. Do you understand?"

_"Do you understand…"_

The blood in his body froze as the familiar words and vocal inflection were burned into his memory. They were deep, yet soft and twisted, just as the man on the phone call said seconds before ending their call. His eyelids stung with moisture as he turned towards Parker.

Every fiber in his body wanted to lash out at Parker, to tear this man piece by piece. He wanted answers as well, to demand the reason for all these years of torment. "You…"

Parker moved his hand through his silver, combed-back hair and smiled pleasantly at Rick. "You know Mr. Castle. I've thought about your case, and well, I wouldn't be surprised if it was far deeper than you presume it to be." He wasn't speaking of the serial murderer, that was obvious to Rick, but likely not clear to Kate.

His breath left the body and he found himself deflating on the floor. His legs were paralyzed, and all of his fear and anger was transforming into the deep hatred that he'd felt for so long.

"Then we'll discover the truth." His nose crinkled and his eyebrows dipped in the middle. He stammered for a bit and closed his hands. Veins bulged from beneath the surface, and his body's heat began to intensify. "One way or another."

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><p>Your thoughts?<p> 


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